Lock reliability, be carefull!

J

jackknife

Joined
Oct 2, 2004
Messages
17,503
I'm at present recovering from hand surgery, no, not from a knife, a tendon problem, but I heard a sad story at the hospital. I was operated on at a surgical center on thursday afternoon. While waiting out in the waiting room for my turn, I and my better half were sitting across from a woman and her son. The son looked to be early 20's. He was slated for reconstrction of some tendons in his right index finger and middle finger. He seemed like a nice kid, and my better half asked what happened to give him such an injury.

Ends up he's a knife knut, and was using one of his high end tactical folders, and the lock failed. He was being dumb, no doubt, but still, he put his faith in his name brand knife, that I won't say here on this forum, and now he has a crippled right hand. They have hopes they can get his hand working right again, but its up in the air.

I see a lot of talk here on how this lock or that lock is the best thing since flint. Twice now in my life, I've seen the disasterous after effects of a lock failing on some young guy who trusted the knife magazines and advertsing.

Yeah, I now you all don't do that.

A mechanical devise is just that, and it's not unheard of to fail. This kid and I had a nice talk about knives till they called my name, and it was time to go get my trigger thumb opperated on. I don't know how he made out but I wish him well. In our talk, he seemed to be quite knowledgeable on knives, had some of the most popular name brands, high end, high dollar. It was one of the most popular ones on the market that got him good. He trusted it and it failed.

Gentlemen, and the ladies here, please be carefull out there. If you're going to be doing something heavy duty enough that you need a strong lock, use a fixed blade. Hand surgery is a pain in the rear, and being reduced to try to go through your life with one hand till they get the other one fixed, if they can fix it, is a real pain.

For safteys sake, with a sharp knife in your hand, think about what you're doing. The Vicaden ain't worth it.

Be carefull.
 
The kid knows about this forum, it's his story and none of my buisness. I just felt like passing on a please be carefull of trusting locks too much.

If he feels like, maybe he'll post on it.
 
:thumbup:Sound advice,Thanks

I wouldn't fully trust ANY lock for hard use.Like you said,that's what fixed blades are for.
 
+1 for what JTR357 said. There isn'tt a lock out there that is fail safe.
 
It'd be great if we could hear some details, but on the other hand it might be perfect as it is. No "Hey I told you that **** folder sucked" or "That kid wasn't very clever doin' that with a folder". Just a simple statement: Be careful with folders, there are fixed blades for a reason. It's good to remind people of the simple things. ;) Thanks jackknife!
 
jackknife said:
The kid knows about this forum, it's his story and none of my buisness. I just felt like passing on a please be carefull of trusting locks too much.

If he feels like, maybe he'll post on it.
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So you can tell us the rest of the story thats non of your busines but not the potentially important part. :confused:
 
Jackknife is giving good advice. Folding knives can fold and care must always be taken when using a sharp knife to remember that possibility. A sharp knife is always loaded.

The potentially most important part on his advice is to be cafeful, not a type of lock or a manufacturer.

I also respect his wisdom to not mention the brand or type of lock. It doesn't matter. All locks made by all companies can end up in a situation where the lock fails. Often it is not the knife, but the owner that creates the problem.

Dirt in the lock, excessive banging on the spine, wear and age, are all reasons to be careful. I've seen quite a few knives that were "killed by spine wack" by ignorant owners that expect more than can be expected from a knife lock. (Locks are tiny bits of machined close tolerance metal, heat treated and carefully fitted together to keep a folding knife as safe as possible.

Keep you knives clean, periodic testing of the lock with a LIGHT spine tap or forced close (keep your fingers out of the line of the blade).

Do not trust any lock 100% regardless of manufacturer's claims. Most manufacturers do the best they can, but pobody's nerfect. A finger or two is a terrible thing to waste.

sal
 
mongomondo said:
Why won't you name the knife model?
Click to expand...

It doesn't mater. And if you think it matters, then you completely missed the point.

jackknife said:
A mechanical devise is just that, and it's not unheard of to fail.
Click to expand...

ALL locks -- repeat: ALL locks -- are subject to failure. They can fail because of poor design or construction. But the best designed and constructed lock from the highest-quality manufacturer can fail because of a freak defect. And they can fail because of improper use. ALL locks can fail.

So, it is up to the user of a folding knife -- ANY folding knife -- to exercise common sense.
 
If a knife is used for it's intended purpose, to cut, it doesn't matter what lock it is. Pressure on the cutting edge will not allow a knife to close. I use slipjoints a lot and they have never closed on me.
 
Haze said:
So you can tell us the rest of the story thats non of your busines but not the potentially important part. :confused:
Click to expand...

you are completely missing the point, jackknife is presently a cautionary tale and it doesnt matter what knife was involved other than it was a folding locking knife... the brand doesnt matter because at the end of the day a folding knife is just that! its not a prybar or a sheath knife... naming the brand would just lead to a bunch of hurt feelings and or egos
ivan
 
IVANKERLEY said:
you are completely missing the point, jackknife is presently a cautionary tale and it doesnt matter what knife was involved other than it was a folding locking knife... the brand doesnt matter because at the end of the day a folding knife is just that! its not a prybar or a sheath knife... naming the brand would just lead to a bunch of hurt feelings and or egos
ivan
Click to expand...

I didnt miss the point at all.

I think we all know the weakest part of a folding knife is the lock and that its prone to failure, no matter what the brand or lock type.

It just would have been nice to fill in the blanks.
 
Your post is a GOOD reminder to us all.

That is indeed a sad story for that young man! Thank you for posting.
 
WHAT WAS THE MAKER OF THE FOLDER!!!?!?!?!

PLEASE TELL US!

Oh, and I DO get the message which is why I've never had a folder fail on me.

TBH, I'm using fixed blades and a SAK nowadays [that way you know you have to be careful because of the slipjoint].

The only folder I trust the most is the ZT0200.

Please TELL US the maker of the folder!!
Please TELL US the maker of the folder!!
Please TELL US the maker of the folder!!
 
Been there, done that, have the scar that wraps around my index finger where they reattached it :D

Don't...DO NOT...EVER....put excessive pressure on the tip of a folding knife. Just don't do it. Trust me.

Sal nailed it...on quality knives lock failures occur when the user makes a mistake.
In my case, I had the web of my hand depress a lockback while I was using the tip under pressure to cut some small plywood pieces. Next thing I know my trigger finger is a red fountain of fun.

If I ever have to stab something, it will be in icepick grip only.
 
I treat the locks of folding knives much like the safety of a firearm---you cannot really rely on human-designed mechanical workings, as all are subject to failure by the laws of physics and the ever-presents laws of Murphy.

The locks of knives and the safeties of firearms are always subject to failure---if they will hold up or not is a matter of chance and luck. For extreme hard use, I will always use a fixed blade knife. For safety concerns, I will leave the safety of my firearm off, but not leave a round in the chamber. It's hard for a knife to break when it's not broken from the factory, and it's hard for a weapon to fire without a cartridge in the chamber. Keep in mind that I have no children, and when they visit all firearms are locked up, and the knives kept in private areas or on my person. Just because I know I treat them with respect, I also realize that others might not.

I've started to ramble...my initial point was that all mechanical things can be subject to failure...every design has a weak point, so use it appropriately, safely, and accordingly.

Thanks for the reminder, jackknife, to be safe and use caution.

:thumbup:
 
Excellent call !

I am happy I keep buying knives only to collect them ,not to use them! Like the stuff in a museum ! Except one small EDC.
With knives is like with the jackets...well not really so ! They advertised a lot of light jackets as being waterproof/breathable but in fact those prove their qualities for a few rainfalls. No matter it's about PATAGONIA/MARMOT/NF/MOUNTAIN HARDWEAR. After that you have to retreat them with different solutions NIKWAX/REVIVEX and they could maintain their qualities for a short time again...The GORE-TEX stuff is the most reliable but even this one won't last 4ever.

I am wondering from the BENCHMADE's axislocks, SPYDERCO's lockbacks, KERSHAW's liner locks...which should be the most trustful ??!!
 
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